By Beth Newman
Sandgate’s Corbin Dickfos is leading the way for the Hawks this season, making him this week’s AP Cup Player of the Week.
Dickfos has been one of the Hawks’ most consistent contributors this season, and armed with electrifying pace, the 19-year-old is a danger man for any opposition,
Despite feeling less than his best for much of the Hawks’ match against UQ, the courageous midfielder/forward threw himself into the contest all day, and nearly pulled off a spectacular goal from the boundary line.
Speaking after Saturday’s win, Dickfos was quick to pay credit to his teammates.
“I started maybe okay but I faded out and got a bit sick in the second quarter,” he said.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I was that good.
“It was a good team performance today and a good performance all around. The boys have worked really hard and we’re pretty happy.
The 19 year-old is in his second year at Sandgate, after playing under-18s and four senior games for the club in 2012.
Dickfos has strong football pedigree, as the son of Sandgate coach Rob and nephew of former Brisbane Bears/Lions player, Danny.
While he doesn’t have much on his uncle for size, Corbin definitely shares Danny’s courage and intensity at the ball.
In a side made up largely of players in their early 20s, Dickfos said the defensive side of the game was a large focus for the team, from the start of the season.
“Our game is basically based upon how many tackles we can lay, how many smothers we can lay, not necessarily how many touches we can get,” Dickfos said.
“We’re just doing all those little one percenters and we know that lifts the boys as well and we find a little bit of inspiration.
“At the start of the year, we had expectations of (either) winning or if we lose, the other side’s going to have earned it.”
And they have certainly lived up to that in the opening month of the season, surprising Springwood and Wilston Grange in their opening two weeks, before notching up a strong win against Maroochydore.
Their pressure and consistent effort has become a hallmark of the emerging side’s game, and has certainly caused a few headaches for their opposition.
Dickfos said the game against the Red Lions was a crucial juncture for the club, and having a 2-2 record was slowly building the club’s confidence.
“Just to get wins on the board, the boys think…‘we can actually play at this level,’” he said.
“At the start of the year, we didn’t know the opposition a lot but we’re getting those couple of wins on the board and it’s like yeah, we can play at this level,we can match it.”
“We’re not afraid and we’ll put our body on the line and doing everything we can for our side.”
Senior coach, Rob Dickfos, said Corbin, and brother Jackson, epitomised that fearless mentality.
“They’re small and tiny in stature but they’ve got some ticker,” he said.
“The little brigade are working hard.
“Everyone says you’ve got to have height in your side but if you’ve got a really good little group, to try and tackle little blokes is just so hard.”
With their obvious enthusiasm and desire in games, it’s not hard to imagine the Hawks adding a few more scalps to their 2013 list.
